Vacancy 2: The First Cut (2009)
This film was directed by Eric Bross (mostly with a history in TV but is now working on The Boy Who Cried Werewolf so this must have somehow gotten him some attention) and Written by Mark L. Smith (Who wrote the original Vacancy and The Hole.)
While I enjoyed the first Vacancy in a slasher film with a twist kind of way it didn't lend itself too well for a sequel. It made it clear that it was a story that took place at the end of an era of horror where people were being killed at the hotel where the killings occurred. Clearly with so much history the film left itself open for a series of anti-climactic sequels with knowing how it would end. Picking up on this without wanting to ruin the feel of the film Mark wrote the one prequel that would make sense - an origin story that still had a slight twist in it. Ideally he will stop here as it still plays out decently enough without ruining the idea of Vacancy though turning it into a franchise between the origin and end of the film would kill what he's put together so far.
I'm going to start by saying if you enjoyed the first Vacancy you will probably have a good time watching this one, if you haven't though you are going to hate it. I say this because the film mirrors the story of the first one in many aspects even while being an origin story.
SpoilersWhat we get is how the owner of the hotel because involved in making snuff films of anyone who comes alone to the hotel as well as how they end up picking their victims. After this point it's pretty stable that it follows the concept of the original movie with the change of 3 victims instead of 2. You do have to give the director credit for making the three friends both likable and believable as people who have known each other and been friends together for years. Knowing how the movie has to end (with the fact that this is exactly what happens in the first movie) kind of lowers the suspense level. We know the patrons of the hotel are destined to be killed just as we know that there will continue to be people who are killed in the hotel for years.
I have to admit the premise for this prequel was a pretty weak thought in the fact that we know the bad guys win and the innocents are killed by the end. It was however almost as entertaining as the original and easily is a fun romp for the slasher flicks who want something a little bit different to watch. It is by no means groundbreaking but it’s not a bad film in the slightest. The directing, acting, and script are all standard horror film quality though you have to give it credit for having high production value. Honestly where it falls short is anyone who has seen the original knows who the bad guys in the film are. The not knowing for part of the first film on who the killer was is what gave it suspense where in this one the end was a given and the suspense factor wasn’t able to keep me drawn in.
